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Northbound/Chapter One
"Are you ready, Pip?" Piplyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath, drawing the fragrant air of summer deep into her lungs. Her eyes snapped open and she crouched, tucking her arms in close to her sides and bending her knees. She shifted her bare foot backwards and forwards in the dirt just behind the starting line. "And are you ready, Daisylyn?" "Of course," the girl replied, shaking her head so that her blond curls danced from shoulder to shoulder. Piplyn glared. "Then on your marks, get set, go!" Garlyn yelled, and both girls took off in a flash. Piplyn charged across the camp, arms pumping, legs whirling, feet pounding on the bare earth. She could feel the dust flying up behind her heels, and she hoped that some of it would go in Daisylyn's eyes. She skidded to a halt barely an arm's length from the riverbank and swung around, hightailing it towards Garlyn and the finish. She glimpsed Daisylyn when she turned, the taller girl only a few steps behind her. Come on, me, Piplyn told herself, and she put her head down and swung her shoulders and with a final last-ditch effort, she dashed over the finish line ahead of the competition. "Winner!" Garlyn exclaimed, grabbing Piplyn's hand and raising it high in the air. "Piplyn is the winner! And Daisylyn came second," he added graciously as the other girl panted to a halt. "I won," Piplyn said in a decidedly un''gracious manner. "Suck on that." Daisylyn sniffed and turned towards Garlyn. "Why is she always so ''rude?" she asked, just as if Piplyn wasn't there and couldn't hear her. Garlyn said nothing, twisting his face into an anxious expression as he realised he was caught in the middle of the argument. "I can hear you, Daisylyn," Piplyn snarled. "And I'm going to go talk to my olma, so there." She stomped off towards the elder's den, her small shoulders practically shaking with anger. The light in the elder's den was dim, even though it was midday. Someone had drawn the leaf-mats across the windows. Piplyn pushed the door closed behind her and looked around, letting her eyes adjust to the gloom. "Olma?" she asked. "Which one do you want, dear?" Rednaf said quietly. She was sitting beside the door doing something with her fingers. Grass-weaving, Piplyn guessed. Rednaf was Piplyn's olma's sister, which meant she was related to Piplyn... somehow. "Either one," Piplyn shrugged. "Birchnaf is taking a nap, but I'm sure Zaf's around camp somewhere," Rednaf said. "She went to get water from the river a while ago and she hasn't come back yet." "I'll find her for you!" Piplyn vowed, in a hushed vow sort of voice, because she didn't want to wake anyone. "And I'll drag her back here by her hair, with your water." Rednaf smiled peaceably. "Thank you, Piplyn," she said, and watched as the small girl turned and marched determinedly out of the door. If Piplyn was honest with herself, she knew that Zafnaf was her favourite olma. They were very alike, and everyone always told them so. Both rushed headlong into everything they did, were stubborn and determined and longed for adventure. Whenever Piplyn wanted to leave camp it was Zafnaf she would ask to take her. The two of them even had their very own special place - the damp rocks behind the waterfall, where the roaring of the water would drown out their voices, and the two of them would sit and plot sneak attacks Piplyn could make on the hunter apprentices when she earned her apprentice name. Piplyn was going to be a warrior apprentice, and it was traditional for there to be playful rivalry between the two kinds of trainees. Zafnaf was across the clearing, just emerging from the medicine den. Piplyn ran over to her. "I beat Daisylyn in a race," she said, flinging her arms around Zafnaf's thighs. "Good for you, Pip," Zafnaf said. "Daisylyn's a snotty brat." "Yeah," Piplyn agreed, pressing her face into the short deer fur of Zafnaf's skirt. It smelt earthy and warm - like summertime and juniper berries. "What were you doing in there?" she asked, lifting her head to peek at the medicine den. "Cherryrin's not well," Zafnaf explained. "I thought I'd take her some water while Tornore was on patrol."She ruffled a hand through Piplyn’s hair. “Were you looking for me, yodo?” “Yeah,” Piplyn said. “I thought maybe you could tell me that story again. You know, the one about Samuel and Lyla and the Codacoats?” Zafnaf seemed to think for a second, staring across the clearing. Piplyn followed her gaze. A hunting patrol was pushing through the entrance. The two hunter apprentices in the group, Teyren and Rowanren, were both laden with prey. Summer was always a plentiful time for WolfClan, and this year was no different. There would be a feast tonight, Piplyn thought. “That is a good story, isn’t it?” Zafnaf mused, talking mostly to herself. “All right, Pip. Let’s sit in the river, yeah? It’s very hot today.” It was hot, so Piplyn nodded and followed Zafnaf down to the river. They sat on the bank in the squelchy mud and dangled their feet in the water. It was cool and little ripples splashed against Piplyn’s calves. “It wasn’t so long ago, or so far from here, that it happened,” Zafnaf began. “The Codacoats rose to power faster than any human could have expected. They were taller than us, with four powerfully strong arms and legs which could spring them forward like grasshoppers. Their skin was thick and grey, and their eyes were flat and red.” Piplyn shivered with delicious fear and tucked herself closer to her olma. “They looked around at the humans,” the woman continued, “and thought they were a small but sturdy and amusing race. So they began to catch them, the way we would catch rabbits, or cats, and they took them as their pets. Leather collars were snapped around the human’s necks, and they became the codapets – not wild and free, like you and me, but tame and cowed. They were obedient to their masters, the Codacoats.” “And there were two codapets called Samuel and Lyla!” Piplyn exclaimed, chiming in with her favourite part. “We’re not there yet,” Zafnaf admonished. “But you’re right. There were two codapets called Samuel and Lyla, and they lived next to each other in the huge coda-dens. Both of them had been born codapets, and so they didn’t know what the wild life was or how to live it. They barely remembered their origins. Both were very different codapets – Samuel was a guard, who stood outside his coda-den and yelled and fought if he saw a strange Codacoat entering. Lyla was a plaything for the offspring of her Codacoat masters. They would dress her in funny clothes, make her chase after balls and teach her things to say in their own odd language.” A hand clamped down suddenly on Piplyn’s shoulder and she squeaked. “It’s a Codacoat!” “I am not a Codacoat,” Geremak admonished, crouching beside her daughter. “I am your mother, and I don’t appreciate your olma telling you these stories, Piplyn. It will only give you nightmares.” She glared at Zafnaf, who raised her eyebrows and mouthed ‘uh oh’ at Piplyn. “Why did you let her play in this mud? And right before her ceremony, too! Piplyn, you’re absolutely filthy. Come with me and we’ll give you a wash.” “Yes, mama,” Piplyn answered obediently, but she cast a glance back at Zafnaf as she was dragged away and wrinkled her nose. She didn’t want a bath, she wanted to hear the rest of the story! Even if her ceremony was this evening, who said she had to be clean? This was just so not fair. When I’m an apprentice, Piplyn thought,'' then none of them will be able to boss me around like this.'' And she felt the excitement that she had been ignoring all day suddenly squirm like snakes in her belly.